Winter Tips For Gasoline
         
Ever park gasoline-powered equipment over the winter and have trouble starting it the next spring?  Once it finally started, did it run poorly?  If you chalk it up to “bad gas”, you’re probably right.  But there are ways to keep your gas from going bad.
           
Gasolines are not what they used to be.  For one thing, today’s gasolines are less stable because lead has been removed.  They also are blended with oxygenates like ethanol, methanol or methyl tertiary butyl ether.  Moisture and oxygen from th air combine with these oxygenates to form noncombustible byproducts.  These can cause deposit formation on valves, piston crowns and chambers.  They also can cause corrosion of fuel tanks and lines, hard starts, decreased fuel economy and clogged injectors or carburetor jets.
           
Here are some tips on storing vehicles and gasoline-powered equipment:

• Keep your fuel tank as full as possible all year.  This will minimize the surface area of fuel exposed to oxygen and moisture, thus reducing oxidation.
• Put an additive in the fuel tank before storing.  The right additive can stabilize fuel oxygenates during storage, aid the combustion of aged fuel, prevent corrosion and remove deposits when aged fuel is burned.
• Avoid additives containing aliphatic naphtha, which has a tendency to gel when subjected to heat.  Make sure a fuel stabilizer contains only 100% combustibles and has passed ASTM D525 laboratory oxidation tests.
• If you think the gas in the tank has gone bad, drain it and dispose of it safely and properly.  Operating on “bad gas” can cause engine damage, air pollution and excess wear on batteries and starters.  It also can cause buildup of deposits in combustion chambers.
• Avoid gasolines with MTBE.  It is by far the worst of the oxygenates in producing oxidation and emulsion.

This article is by Bill Siuru from the Progressive Farmer November 1999 edition.